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SCHOOLARTSMAGAZINE.COM 33
have autism, dyslexia, or ADHD are
faced with the same feelings they
had in the beginning and have to
overcome them daily. As this revela
-
tion dawned on them, we could see
the understanding on their faces as
their eyes widened and they slowly
nodded their heads.
Closing
By having our students face the same
struggles as artists with challenges,
they were able to communicate about
the difficulties posed and problem-
solve together. They were able to
compare how their lives would be dif
-
ferent if they had a disability. Allow-
ing young children to open up to such
Defeat came over the children almost
immediately and they shot back that
this task was "impossible." Never
-
theless, we followed up by showing
images of artwork from the artists
listed earlier. Once students saw what
was possible, their imaginations and
determination increased.
Each student was given paper and
watercolors and set to work. Students
worked diligently, thinking critically
and solving problems on their own.
The room was nearly silent—nothing
could stop their art-making.
What Did This Teach?
This lesson contains multiple visual
arts standards and digs deeper when
focusing on empathy. Getting stu-
dents to do something that is out of
the norm can be challenging, but this
lesson allows for them to open up and
step outside of their comfort zones.
More importantly, this activity
opened a door for teaching empathy
to students. What they were able to
do during this lesson was open up and
share and understand the feelings of
one another. They were able to empa
-
thize with the artists we introduced
because we put them in their shoes.
Deconstruction
To wrap up the lesson, we decon-
structed it. We led a deep and honest
discussion about how students felt
when they were told to paint like
an elephant. Many students were
scared at first and afraid of failure
or doing "bad work." They became
less intimidated when they saw the
artwork and heard the stories about
the artists who have learned to over
-
come their challenges. They learned
to problem-solve and think critically
as they painted.
Our conversation did not end
there. We completed the discussion
by pointing out that children who
This activit pened
a door for teaching
empath to students.
vulnerability and emotion strength-
ens their sense of empathy.
Tracey Hunter-Doniger is assistant profes-
sor of creativity/creative arts at the College
of Charleston in Charleston, South Caro
-
lina. hunterdonigertl@ cofc.edu; Samantha
Williams and Kathryn Brundage are gradu
-
ate students at the College of Charleston.
N A T I O N A L S T A N D A R D
Creating: Conceiving and developing
new artistic ideas and work.
W E B L I N K S
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=owSZs7H24UY
www.elephantart.com/catalog/
Students understand empathy
with a different perspective.